Q. It's been a while since you played competitively.
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Honestly it's probably the toughest round I've ever played. I don't know. I kind of want to watch my swings, and I kind of don't. I mean, every year the Masters is amazing, because you can go and watch every shot you hit. You know, I'm just fighting. Like, it's a battle.
I don't think I've been able to get comfortable out there and trusting the entire body. It's not painful, but it's not easy. I think walking has been the hardest part.
Yeah, I'm just one shot at a time. I mean, I don't think I've ever woken up this nervous before a first round or before any round, honestly. So I'm proud of the way things kind of played out. You know, yeah, the expectations are kind of thrown out the window right now.
Q. What was the warmup like this morning? Were you feeling like you were maybe getting a little bit more comfortable throughout the day?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, it all started when I woke up. I've never felt this nervous, like, in my life. I've played in majors. I've played in other events. I think it's a trust factor, right? I think when it happened out on the course at The Players, you know, there's a certain doubt factor of, like, is this going to happen, is this not?
I've been hitting balls for the past week and a half, but not comfortably. By that, it's just more like my head gets in the way, and the head can stop so much. When I teed it up on Tuesday on one, I mean, I honestly didn't know if I was going to make contact. Warmup felt fine, everything.
I'm probably the slowest out there out of this entire field, but I'm just trying to put one foot in front of the other and kind of see how it all plays out.
Q. Physically, there's no pain?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Physically there's no pain. It's just a trust thing. My legs don't want to trust that it's going to hold up the back and the rest of the body. When that's feeling wobbly, plus you add the adrenaline and the nerves, it's just not -- it's not easy, but thankfully this course is firm. Can hit some drives and kind of I'm calling it a little dink it out there and find it and move on.
Q. You said that it wasn't so much the back. Is it something else that's bugging you?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: The legs. The legs just don't feel comfortable right now. They don't feel strong like they're underneath me.
I don't think it's really muscle loss. It's just a trust factor and saying that the legs are under there that you can go fire the way I used to. I use so much of my lower body to hit my shots that, you know, today and this past week of hitting balls, it's been a lot of upper body just kind of firing.
Q. Is it more mental at this point too?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think it is, and it's unfortunate, but I've got to find a way to battle through it. I'm proud of myself the way it kind of played out today. I mean, I had no clue what I was going to shoot today. Like, I had no idea.
Q. Given all of that, what did you learn about yourself through that 18 holes?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: That the mind is a powerful, powerful thing. It can lead any the wrong direction sometimes, and it can lead you in the right direction. Trust me, it started immediately when I woke up.
I've been nervous here and there throughout the practice rounds, but you never know what to expect. I slept great, and you wake up, and you are just -- like, I can feel, you know, just the mind racing. You have to just be able to calm yourself down.
It was a long day out there. I mean, I don't know how long we were out there, but I was out there twice the amount of time just because of the things I had to keep telling myself throughout the round.
Q. What exactly made you nervous?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just the body. Just not knowing what's going to happen, you know?
Q. Was there ever a question of withdrawing early in the week?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Yeah, I mean, I played nine on Tuesday. I played nine on Wednesday. You know, I chipped on Monday. Out of all the events, probably not the one I want to skip. You never know if you're going to find some luck and be able to figure something out. So we were able to grind it out today, and hopefully we can grind it out for three more.
Q. Will you feel less nervous tomorrow?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: I think so, but each day is a new day. I really don't know how I'm going to wake up. Thankfully I have a lot of time to recover and kind of rest up for afternoon tomorrow.
Q. What will the recovery look like tonight? What will you do?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Just a lot of PT work, a lot of stretching, a lot of just breath work just to kind of calm the entire nervous system down. It's stressful out there even on the good holes. It's just about making it to the green, making it to the fairway. It's a long day.
Q. Are there shots on certain holes here that take a little bit more mentally focus and mental discipline?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: Not when I'm feeling like the way I am now. Every hole -- I mean, there's not an easy hole out there. There really isn't. I've got to put so much energy into each one of those shots that you just can't let up.
Q. Focusing on your body, does that take away the nervousness of just trying to win the Masters?
COLLIN MORIKAWA: A little bit, yeah. It's a different kind of mindset. I'm attacking this golf course I think a lot differently than I normally would, so I've kind of had to set a game plan and figure out where I'm going to be able to hopefully take advantage of some shots here and there.
Yeah, you know, I didn't quite do that today, but still pretty happy.
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